NOTE ON CASE SIZE: I think I measured the case wrong, due to the odd shape. Merkur has this listed as a 39mm case. I re-measured it at 38mm, but depending on the way you navigate the crown guards, you can get 39mm as well. All that to say, on the wrist it does wear more like a 39mm watch than a 37mm.
The Boderry is $30, I received it several weeks ago and I haven't taken it off! They supplied NATO band is very comfortable! I haven't yet changed it to the supplied titanium bracelet. It keeps phenomenally accurate time!
Hello, thanks for this review ! This is the best one I've seen on this watch 🙂 The movement is the Tongji chinese standard movement, inspired by the Swiss Enicar 1010 and Japanese Seikosha Seiko 850 (76xx) movements. It has been manufactured in various forms in numerous factories since 1972. It is easily serviceable 😉 It is pretty reliable and precise when it is well lubricated. You cannot hack but you can use the "back hacking" technique when it is not winded too much, like on a Seiko 7S26 movement for example.
The track record of the dirt cheap Tongji movements varies wildly and depends on the factory producing it (there are hundreds of Chinese factories making them...) Some know the meaning of QC, some have no idea what you're talking about. You can buy a hand wound watch with this movement for $10, so do the math. It's a crap shoot. That said, I like the design of the watch and would buy it instantly when they have a version with, for example, a Seiko VH31 inside.
While I doubt this situation, I would like to see a Giger counter take readings around the watch to make sure the radioactive isotope was correctly implemented/contained in the case.
You are correct to doubt the movement, I had one and it became wildly inaccurate after 3 months occasional use- 80 seconds difference between dial up/down 🤣. I made spacers and fitted a vh31 into the nicely made case/dial now it is much better.
@@ThatGuy23-17 I had to source hands sized for the vh31, but setting them was straight forward and I could re-use the crown on the vh31 stem. The worst bit was removing a spacer glued to the back of the dial as the vh31 pinion barely reached through the dial initially.
I loved seeing the metal bracelet you just reviewed. My dad had the same bracelet on his little MIDO Multifort he wore in the service. I have the watch now still on that bracelet. It just needs a cleaning. Great flash back. Mark - Springfield, MO
I have to say Thx! Discovery Mall Japan .. what a great resource! I must have spent an hour or two just browsing the watch section. And ordered up a CASIO Lineage Solar LIW-M700 while I was there :) Affordable watches are super fun - long live the W-217, one of my favs.
Ive got the tongii movement in my $20 Winners watch. Works fine fir years. If you want it, no reason you shouldnt get it on that detail. Tritium tubes are awesome. You can see that glow all nifht.
Merkur makes some beautiful watches. I can’t quite get over the Chinese Movement and the mineral glass on most of their watches. I know I should though. Thanks for the great review!
I sent back one watch to merkur once, 1 week after I got it back repaired. But I live in China 😅 anyway the after sale service was efficient and they didn't make trouble to decide if the defect needed to be covered or not by the warranty, they just took back the watch and repaired it. And gave me a free NATO strap too (cheap quality though, but free)
There is so much that is appealing about this watch, the legibility, the tritium , the hand wound movement. But the thing that would prevent me from purchasing it is the lack of hacking seconds. I have had a 7S36 Seiko for many years and have back hacked it, but it's just not as good as having an actual hacking mechanisim.
Hey Dave! I'm seeing similarities on the Merkur with the Marathon AND the (arguably OG design) CWC G22 General Service watch. I do love the style and the Merkur's treatment of the crystal is more my preference over the CWC's bubble style. Definitely a contender, especially after seeing the movement details from another commenter, below! Cheers! 😁
I’d stick to the Marathon, purely for the durability and quality build. Plus, Lume is too bright for real military use and Tritium will always be the preferable option. When I was in hospital, at lights out time the wards become totally dark. My Traser was easily readable in the dark, whereas lume would have failed completely within a few hours.
I was skeptical when I first saw the title. However, this is one I would add to my collection. I like that bracelet, and the Tridium is a very nice feature. I think the price is very reasonable for an every day tool watch.
I have one of these and like it a lot. I have a single pass nylon strap on it that works great. But I can't get the lug bars off. They won't budge, and almost broke my screwdrivers. Otherwise, it's been great. It's running about +8 spd.
Very interesting. Marathon makes great watches. I’d give this one a shot. It looks fantastic. One thing to note: mil spec actually suck. I prefer this watch in quartz.
For my field watch that I actually use while hunting, backwoods, wilderness hiking, swimming, etc. I need tritium, I need a robust and accurate quartz movement, low cost. This is a perfect watch except for that movement.
Strap would be interesting to have as a mesh alternate for a different watvh. Would be interested in 40mm with Japanese quartz or solar to match the movement life to the tritium.
Spend the extra money and get a Marathon. You're paying for a better movement and long term reliability. I have a Marathon. I've had no problems getting 16 mm nato straps. Crown & Buckle sells many of them. So does Amazon.
Interesting little watch, i have a couple of merkurs and theyre nice little watches, this one would be great with a mecaquartz movement and a screw down crown. Thanks.
I would like to see a Tritium watch that has a different design for its lume - so far all the watches I've seen only have those tubular shaped markings, which makes me think that its probably limited by how tritium can be packaged. If there is a tritium design with circular markers like a dive watch, that would be a gamechanger.
That bracelet is really strange. Not that I think it is bad, but it does not match the style of the watch at all. I wish they could have at least bead blasted it to match the case finish. I know you mentioned the second hand lume. Marathon also does this with their Quartz watches with Tritium. I'm not exactly sure why.
Hi, I love your videos and have come across them from time to time but never hit the subscribe button. That changed today as I was scrolling through your videos to see if you have reviewed the Casio Duro but I came across something better, your video on answering Bible questions. After I saw that I hit subscribe. Aside from your well done watch reviews I’m always here to support a fellow Christian that isn’t afraid to share his faith. Awesome that you’re a missionary in Japan and I will be praying for God to continue lead you in that.
Have you actually handled the Marathon? I don't see the Chinese changes as being better....just a further deviation from the actual military watch the Marathon was modeled on. I think Merkur paid for a positive review with this freebie. Serica doesn't have any rights to the Bonklip bracelet! I have a JB Forstner version of this bracelet style. Light and comfortable. I use it on a vintage piece from the 40's.
The current Boldr I saw on their site was $300, had an awful mix of Arabic and Roman numerals, and had butt-ugly hands. I think this Merkur looks far better.
15:40 Thanks for the review! It really is a nice watch and one I would consider.I do pause on the second hand not having tritium and not having hacking. Why not just drop in an NH35? You get an automatic with hacking. Ok so you have to deal with the ghost date issue, but I think that would be the changes I’d consider. Thanks again as always.
The Chinese for you! Copy paste a mod arrow mark they've seen on another field watch, because this is a field watch after all, never mind that it's never been mod issued. Then totally screw up the movement with something totally inappropriate for a military watch. Just sums up how little they actually understand about what they are making...
I know it’s fairly cheap, but the difference between the Real Swiss Watch and the homage is too close. I could understand if it was 5% the cost of the original, but at over 25% it’s a firm No from Me.
Although I highly appreciate what you do reviewing super cheap good watches for the common folk, I would have loved you to review the original Marathon watch as it not as expensive thus not unattainable. You've done Swiss watches before. Regards.
I like this watch a lot and would be online purchasing it right now but the Chinese mystery movement just totally kills it for me. I have not had a good track record with cheap Chinese movements so I simply avoid them now.
“In house movement” is an immediate pass. You will not be able to get parts outside of China. You already have this issue w/ Seagul movements. To many other options to even consider this one. You mentioned the half life of Tritium. It will still be glowing well past fifteen years. It’s a better option if you truly need to be able to read it at night.
I have 2 tritium watches. One with T25 & one with T100. In just a few years, tritium turns very very dim. You can hardly see the glow. I won’t buy any tritium any more.😢
Nice to see the innovations that Merkur brings to this Marathon piece ie., they didn’t just do a straight copy P.S. but shortly after saying that, I learn that it’s a non-hacking movement. that’s odd, for a military-inspired watch
not so strange when we consider that this is Merkur's first in-house movement, the tongji being a very simple movement it is easier to control the quality and it allows them to proudly display Merkur's Chinese identity.
If it was a running a japan movement, it would have been a nice cheap chinese clomage alternative to marathon, but given it is coming from suggess it will be chinese movement, and having a chinese movement will be a waste of money, even if it is cheap.
@@anonimushbosh I'm weak, poor and I don't carry a purse. We all have diferent view, feel of the proportions. I think these days is posible and better to ofer same watches in different sizes. It's good for bussines 😉
For me, 40mm is too big for this style of watch case. It has to be smaller because it wears large on a wrist. I don't get the point wearing big watches that looks odd on most people wrists 🤷♂
